IMA News, Announcements and Events

INTRODUCING OUR NEW EDITOR AND OUR NEW FORMAT

The IMA congratulates Associate Editor Catherine Saar as she has assumed full responsibility as Newsletter Editor.  To that end, Catherine would like to introduce you to our new newsletter format. The newsletter is now organized into sections to create an easier to use format.  The new sections include Industry News and Legislative Updates to keep you abreast of current events that impact the entire community, Research Developments to highlight new findings of particular interest to CAM practitioners, The Practitioner’s Corner, an essay or profile by or about fellow practitioners and, finally, Resources for the Community a section that offers marketing insights, book reviews, or other useful information to help practitioners improve their business. Of course, we will continue to have a feature story covering a topic or profiling a well-known practitioner of interest to the community.

We hope you enjoy the new format and welcome your thoughts, comments, writing, and story ideas.  Send comments to Catherine Saar at catsaar@aol.com.

MICHAEL R. BASSO,  KRISTEN LOMBARD, JOAN STRAUSS, AND HARVEY ZARREN JOIN IMA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

We are pleased to announce the addition four new members to our Board of Directors, who will be serving the IMA in 2004-2005:

Dr. Michael Basso, Jr., is President of The Connecticut Holistic Health Association in Hartford Connecticut and a special correspondent on holistic and natural medicine for the Norwalk Hour and the Greenwich Times newspapers.  Basso also teaches at the University of Connecticut in Stamford and participates in CAM activities at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine in Farmington. He earned his PhD in Professional Psychology and Biomedical Systems at Union Institute Graduate School.

Kristen Lombard, MSN, APRN, BC has a private practice as a Certified Healing Touch Practitioner, Psychotherapist, Holistic Health Consultant and Community Educator at True North, a Center for Health and Healing in Falmouth, Maine.  She is also a speaker at national, regional and state conferences on Circle Process and other Integrative Care Modalities.  Lombard received her Master of Science in Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing with Older Adult Focus at the University of Virginia School of Nursing. She currently resides in Maine.

Joan Strauss is Operations Director for Interdisciplinary Services and the Healing Connection at Union Hospital, North shore Medical Center in Lynn, Massachusetts.    Strauss has also been a Consultant to the health care industry in marketing and market research and earned her MBA from Simmons College in Boston.  Strauss has published extensively and says that her interest in the scientific study of immunology is driven by a fascination with the body's wisdom, intelligence and capacity to heal.  She is currently working to create space in a conventional care setting where each individual can gain knowledge of and confidence in their self-healing abilities. 

Dr. Harvey Zarren is a Cardiologist in practice from 1975. Zarren is the Founder and Physician Director of The Healing Connection, a hospital based program at the Union Hospital in Lynn, Massachusetts. The Healing Connection is a working practice that places people and the value of human interaction back into the center of the healing process. Since 1982, Zarren has been an Assistant Clinical Professor in Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine.  A physician trained in allopathic Cardiology, Zarren’s practice and approach to healing has evolved over the years. He has included a focus on nutrition as a cornerstone of cardiac wellness and has emphasized hope, personal responsibility fostered by education, and the value of human relationships in the prevention and treatment of heart disease.  He is a graduate of Columbia College and the Tufts University School of Medicine, and is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and speaks and presents workshops around the United States and internationally.

IMA MASSACHUSETTS LEADERSHIP FORUM 

What will health care look like in 20 years? And how will “alternative medicine” – practices such as massage therapy, acupuncture and chiropractic – continue to influence conventionally accepted ideas about healing, treatment, and prevention?

Leaders of sixteen integrative health practices met in Cambridge, Massachusetts on December 12 to discuss these and other questions about the future of integrative health care in New England.  The forum, the first of its kind, was sponsored by the Integrative Medicine Alliance (“IMA”) to set the groundwork for future collaboration among integrative medicine networks and practices.

Holistic Nursing, Asian Bodywork Therapy, Chiropractic, Reiki, Rolfing, Naturopathy, Colon Hydrotherapy, Feldenkrais, Homeopathy, and Herbalism were some of the practices represented.  Each leader shared an overview of their practice; along with the obstacles and opportunities they face in their field.

Forum participants agreed that one key challenge involves clearer and better communication with the general public.  “Most integrative practices are misunderstood by the general public,” said Karl Berger, IMA founder.  “This leadership forum has helped us all find ways to increase the visibility of our integrative and holistic professions so that consumers can make better, more informed choices about their own health care.  In coming together we’ve discovered a great deal of common ground.  We all want to work toward a future for healthcare in New England that is more compassionate, collaborative, and sustainable, providing a wide variety of options for health and healing available to all,” added Berger.

The IMA plans to incorporate the learning from this session into its activities and plans for the coming year.

MASSACHUSETTS HOLISTIC PROFESSIONS DESIRE TO WORK MORE CLOSELY WITH MAINSTREAM HEALTHCARE ACCORDING TO IMA SURVEY

by  Karl Berger, IMA Coordinator

A qualitative survey performed by the Integrative Medicine Alliance (IMA) found that many leaders of holistic professions would like to see their healing arts work side by side with conventional care.

Last fall, the IMA interviewed leaders of ten Massachusetts’ holistic professional associations.  These professions interviewed included naturopathy, yoga, biofeedback and herbalism. 

The IMA explored what challenges these leaders saw their professions facing in the Bay State.  The key challenge they identified was insurance reimbursement.  Most professional association leaders interviewed did not have their profession covered by insurance, and saw this as a major impediment for growing their profession and making it more accessible to patients on limited incomes.  Some leaders also cited the challenge of marketing their profession more effectively to build public awareness of what their healing art can offer.

What kind of role would these leaders like to see their holistic professions playing in the Massachusetts health and wellness scene?   Those we interviewed voiced a clear desire for their healthcare profession either to more actively complement or entirely integrate with conventional healthcare. 

Some healthcare professions such as naturopathy would like to see its practitioners on an equal standing with medical doctors.  Other leaders said they wanted to see their healing arts integrated into daily hospital life.  And others ideally saw their professions taking a more active complementary role with conventional healthcare providers rather than integrated. Some holistic healthcare leaders wanted to see greater medical recognition for their modality’s strengths in areas such as preventative care and the treatment of chronic pain.

The leaders we interviewed also wanted to see a raised public consciousness about choices for holistic healing and holistic health principles.  For example, one leader of a professional yoga practitioner’s network would like to see yoga taught in public schools as a tool for stress reduction.  All the leaders we interviewed showed confidence in their profession’s ability to play a greater role in our society’s health if given the chance.

ANNOUNCING A NEW IMA WORKSHOP:
STOP SELLING AND START SERVING:
PRACTICAL MARKETING FOR INDEPENDENT HEALTH AND
WELLNESS PRACTICES
TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2004
ARLINGTON, MA

The IMA is proud to offer this three-hour hands-on workshop for independent health and wellness practices, which will be held on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Charles River School of Shiatsu on 180 Massachusetts Ave. in Arlington, MA.  Workshop leader Jennifer Lewy will show you a simple, powerful approach to attracting all the clients you can handle. Based on service to clients, and not selling, this approach will focus and energize your marketing so you can build the business you want with clarity and intention –and without spending a fortune. Whether you have an established practice or have just opened your doors, in this workshop you will identify and address your major “marketing blocks,” discover 3 principles of service-based marketing, use simple tools to develop a cost-effective (and do-able!) marketing plan, and much more.   Our workshop leader, Jennifer Lewy, is an experienced consultant and writer who has worked to improve marketing communication at health centers large and small across the country.  Cost: $49 general registration. 
IMA Discounts: $36 for IMA Solo Businesses, $24 for Business Partners, FREE for IMA Allied and Patron Businesses). For more details and directions, email IMA_Events@yahoo.com or call the IMA at (781) 648-9866.

ima-sponsored event:
BOSTON HERBAL TOURS - BOTÁNICAS
SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2004
BOSTON, MA

The Integrative Medicine Alliance is proud to co-sponsor Boston Herbal Tours:- Botánicas, a initiative of the Boston Healing Landscape Project at Boston Medical Center, on Saturday, April 3rd, 2004 from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.  CME Credit is available.  Traditional healing practices originating in Cuba, Haiti, and other parts of the Caribbean flourish in Boston, where local botánicas sell herbs, roots, and other remedies. This tour will take you through a morning of lectures on such herbal medicines by faculty from MGH and the Mass. College of Pharmacy, and on cross-cultural medicine practices by faculty from the BU School of Medicine.  After a family-style lunch catered by a local Latino restaurant, we will tour Boston’s Cuban and Haitian botánicas, with a talk by Cuban santero Steve Quintana, and Vodou priest Erol Josue. Cost of the tour is $170 including lunch.  There will be a 15% discount for IMA members and full-time students.   For more information and to register, please contact Dr. Linda Barnes at 617-414-4534, or at linda.barnes@bmc.org.

IMA Hires Julia Smith as Administrator

We are pleased to announce that, after a considering many highly talented applicants, we have hired Julia Smith as the IMA's first part-time Administrator.  Julia will be processing our growing number of membership registrations, assisting the IMA's Coordinator, and handling general inquiries.  Julia has over 20 years of administrative experience and has worked at Harvard University, the Boston Shiatsu School, and the Charles River School of Shiatsu in Arlington.  In addition to being a gifted potter specializing in historic reproductions for museums and movies, Julia is also a teacher and practitioner of Traditional Thai Massage (for more information, you can contact Julia at IMA_Julia@yahoo.com, or visit her website at www.juliasmith.com).

IMA Volunteer of the Month: Sean Jarboe

We warmly acknowledge Sean Jarboe as our Volunteer of the Month.  Have you noticed how great the IMA website looks these days?  That's all due to Sean, our very own web guru, who over his two years with the IMA has patiently but determinedly helped us improve the quality of site.  Until recently, Sean was a victim of the dot-bomb era and had to work the night shift at FedEx, not his ideal job.  Recently, however, his fortunes have turned for the better, and in addition to better employment he is also offering web consulting and other related services (for more info, you can email Sean at Sean.Jarboe@indevisuality.com ).  Thanks to his efforts, the IMA website is at the finishing stages of a reformatting that is greatly improving the readability of our site.  Thank you Sean!

SOME SIMPLE WAYS  TO HELP THE IMA

Become a member of the IMA. One of the most important things you can do to help. For as little as $50 a year ($25 for students) you can help the IMA bring together caregivers of all healing traditions and provide a voice for the New England's integrative healthcare community.  Visit http://www.integrativemedalliance.org/helping_becomeamember.asp and become a member today!

Would you like to volunteer your professional caregiving skills? If you're a complementary/alternative caregiver, sign up to volunteer for our Mobile Clinics by e-mailing  LivingtheVision@yahoo.com.

Would you like to be our "eyes and ears"? If you know of a worthwhile upcoming integrative medical event in New England, (large or small !) send date, time and place info to our Calendar of Events Coordinator Theresa Ochenkoski at IMA_Calendar@yahoo.com

Do you like to write? Send in your news story ideas, commentary, and other writings to our IMA Newsletter Editor Catherine Saar at catsaar@aol.com .

Do you like parties? If you'd like to host a social or networking gathering of caregivers from many healing traditions at your home or at a public location, we'd be happy to sponsor it and advertise it on our calendar, but please give us 2 month's advance notice. E-mail the details to IMA Coordinator Karl Berger at IMA_Karl@yahoo.com .

Would you like to spread the word about us? We'd want to invite all concerned citizens and caregivers to get our free IMA newsletter. Send their e-mail addresses (or postal addresses if they have no e-mail) to us at IMA_Maillist@yahoo.com and we'll invite them to subscribe. If you'd like to distribute our brochures, we'll send you some!

If you'd like to make a bigger volunteer commitment: We're looking for assistance in administration, event planning, fundraising, grant writing, outreach, project management, and public relations. For more information, visit our Website at www.integrativemedalliance.org  and under "Helping" click on "Volunteer".